most houses (post-andrew) are constructed out of solid concrete, with reinforced roofs, beams tied down. a fair percentage of people even have permanent window-protection. we all more or less know the drill -- we just swarm for food the day before. perhaps this is not something to brag about, but we literally shrug off the smaller ones. sometimes, we even throw parties.
Here in Antigua the attitude towards hurricanes is the same. After you have enough of those critters, you learn to live with them.
i believe i speak for everyone in south florida when i say that if this is all god's got, we are not impressed. there are a few things more terrifying than a category five heading straight for you
I remember back in 1999, after our second hurricane that year, we invited a "Holy-Ghost-filled" African evangelist to elucidate the meaning of the abundance of strange swirling winds from the east. I am not sure if he was chosen because of some special connection to God or because both he and the bloody critters came from the same place. However, he issued a dire warning to the inhabitants of this tiny Caribbean island .... God is not pleased and he is venting hurricanes. You see Antigua had two hurricanes in 1950, the next one in 1989-Hugo, followed by Luis in 1995, Georges in 98 and finally Jose and Lenny in 1999. According to the man of God, the period between hurricanes reduced from 39 years to 2 months, a sure sign that God was steaming through the ears. Nobody really bothered with God they just build stronger houses. I am not sure what transpired upstairs , but like the big bad wolf God seemed have taken His huffing and puffing to the south as was evident in His complete annihilation of Grenada in 04.
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